Unchanging
by VTPM
Summary: (Hinted KakuHida fluff) Everything around him is always changing while he stays the same. It aches to see everyone around him get old and die, only for him to live on, unchanging. What was the point of eternity if there was no one to share it with?


He stumbled forward numbly, not aware of the odd looks people cast him as he passed. His body was covered in a cloak, a loose hood hiding the majority of his disheveled hair. He didn't bother keeping it tidy anymore. Who was there to bother caring if he kept himself properly groomed?

He'd stopped keeping track of the days, weeks, months, and years. All he knew was everyone he knew was long since dead and gone.

The immortal man kept his gaze on the ground. He didn't dare make eye contact with anyone anymore. Too many times had he seen things he didn't want to in people's eyes when they looked at the pitiful state he was in. He had grown thin over the years compared to his usual muscular build, his silver hair hung limply in his face despite his hate for it, and his lavender eyes had turned dull and uncaring, no longer holding any excitement, humor, or livelihood. He had abandoned his scythe and doubted that anyone else on this earth remembered his name. The only things that kept him going were the hate of being in one place and his need for sacrifices. The pendant of Jashin still hung around his neck, his religion being the only thing that brought anything other than walking mindlessly into his life, though the enjoyment of it had long since deserted him.

He really was a zombie at this point, defying death and aimlessly killing. He sighed to himself and closed his eyes. Only problem was the other of the 'Zombie Combo' had abandoned him as well, just like everything else in this world had. He never thought he'd say it, but he regretted the way he'd treated his Akatsuki teammate. Perhaps if he'd been better to him then, he would have stayed at his side. He knew his ex-teammate was immortal too, though less durable than himself, and he briefly wondered if he was still alive too and what he had been doing over all these years.

He bumped into someone while he wasn't watching where he was going and the person growled in warning, "Watch it.."

The silver haired man spared a glance up at the person, hoping for a familiar face, though the scowl of the stranger brought back no memories of anyone he knew, and after a few moments of walking, the face became nothing more than yet another blurred face in the crowd of all the people he'd encountered in his wanderings.

While waiting at a cross walk for traffic to stop, he cast his gaze around quickly just to pick his next direction and to check out his surroundings. His eyes saw a sauna and he quickly turned his head away. It reminded him too much of his village, the damned place that he'd hated with all his heart.

 _I guess I get the last laugh though, huh..? All those Hidden Steam bastards that treated me wrong are dead and I'm still here..._ He couldn't hold in a pained, manic giggle, earning him several more scowls, confused looks, and concerned stares, though he didn't care. He was crazy, and rightfully so. None of these people could fathom the agony he was in. None of them understood what it was like to watch things changing so drastically and be unable to escape the past, to be incapable of telling one day apart from the next. It was torture of levels he hadn't known existed.

He remembered praying desperately to Jashin, begging him to revoke the privilege of his immortality, but when he stabbed himself, he had been able to only laugh at himself uncontrollably.

 _"I can't die!" He shrieked to no one but the sky. "I'll live forever! My payment to Jashin shall never end! My sins were too great to be forgiven, weren't they Jashin-sama?! I beg forgiveness! I beg to be released, even if I shall burn in Hell for it!"_

No one answered his pleas for help or release.

He was broken from his memories and day dreams as the cross walk became available and people bustled past him. His eyes darted up for a second, and of course found no one he could recognize.

Defeated once again, he stumbled after them across the road, trudging slowly in hopes the light would turn green and a vehicle in a hurry would slam the life out of him. He knew it wouldn't happen, but oh how he craved it.

Before he knew it, he had wandered out of the town and he staggered along the gravel shoulder of the road, ignoring passing cars.

The world was unrecognizable now. The Hidden Villages were no more as far as he knew. Dirt roads turned to asphalt, machines and automobiles took over manufacturing and transportation, cloaks turned to winter coats and hoodies, and as far as he could see, shinobi were no more. All of his training and work had came to be nothing. He could still defend himself, yes, but not as well as before as he'd given up on training and his muscles had turned more lean and wiry instead of his original bulk and broad shoulders. He really had thinned into nothing, and he doubted he could even use his scythe if he still had it.

Before he knew it, night had fallen and he turned away from the road to find a place to rest for the night. Once the road was out of sight, he collapsed carelessly to the ground and leaned back against a tree, closing his eyes. He let his thoughts turn back time and weave their way through all the years, finally resting at the years he'd spent in the Akatsuki. That had been the only time he had ever been close to others and felt, to an extent, accepted.

His eyes opened in alarm when a terrifying realization crashed down on him. The faces were getting blurred in his mind, mixing in and getting buried under all the new memories and identities that cluttered his mind now with a heavy haze.

Panicked, he ran the names and facts through his mind, hoping refreshing their identities would clear the smudging of their faces in his mind.

 _Pein: orange hair, Rinnegan, piercings, thinks he's god when Jashin clearly is... Konan: blue hair, gold-ish eyes, flower, origami... Deidara: blonde, bright blue eyes, 'art is an explosion'... Sasori: red hair, grey eyes, puppet, 'art is eternal beauty'... Tobi: black hair, mask, annoying little shit... Zetsu: green hair, gold eyes, black and white, plants... Kisame: dark blue hair, light blue skin, shark, likes fish... Itachi: black hair, Sharingan, blind as hell, arrogant dick... Kakuzu-_ His panicked, rushed, and hastily-made list trailed off as his partner's name came up. It hurt to think of him and how he'd abandoned the priest, and he doubted he could forget the miser, but he needed to complete his list, else his mind would deteriorate more. _Kakuzu: black hair, green and red eyes, stitches, greedy shitfaced money hoarder.._. He cut it off there to stop himself from listing every attribute of the man.

More exhausted than usual, he closed his eyes again, hoping to have a dreamless sleep, else he have a fit and wake up screaming and crying out for his lost comrades. He'd never cared for any of them particularly, but he longed for any form of human contact that would last at this point, and that only lasting contact he had was in dreams and memories. It wasn't nearly enough to comfort him, but it was all he had and he had to make due with it.

Slowly, he drifted off to sleep, though it was far from a restful one.

* * *

He woke the next morning as the sun was rising and stood silently, making his way back to the road and following along the gravel side again, just as he'd been doing for countless days now.  
After several hours of walking, the sun had risen to its highest point and beat down brightly as he made his way into the next town on his long, unending journey. Where he was going or where it ended, he wasn't sure. He didn't think there was an end to it anymore, that he would simply remain as a lost soul to wander the world for all eternity.

He sighed weakly to himself and looked around in disinterest at the new town, not finding anything that caught his eye.

Broken fragments of thoughts from the past cluttered his mind and he allowed them to take his conscious mind over, not caring what happened to his body that existed in reality anymore and preferring the demented and faded memories over what this world had to offer to him.

He didn't think he was lost in thought very long, but when his consciousness returned, the sun was setting on yet another day of his lonely existence and he no longer knew where he was.

He decided to just continue on the way he was facing, not knowing what other solution there was. He knew he wouldn't make it out of the town before nightfall, and he couldn't see any decent place to settle down for the night. He came across a rundown looking motel, and briefly wondered if he could beg for pity and sleep in the lobby, being as he didn't have any money.

As he entered the lobby, the receptionist looked up at him with a suspicious look. He supposed in his old, ragged cloak, he would look shady.

"Can I help you?" The man asked from behind the counter.

His old self would have never fallen to begging like this, but he couldn't deny that his old self was gone. "I was wondering if I could stay here in the lobby just for the night.." He said, his voice quiet and weak from lack of use.

"I'm sorry, but unless you're paying, you can't stay here."

"Please, just one night... I won't cause any trouble, I swear..."

The man must have felt a pang of guilt at seeing the hopeless, despaired, pleading look in the priest's eyes, or perhaps he just had a kind heart in general. "..Alright, one night.. But as soon as we're open in the morning, you'll need to leave.."

He nodded. "Of course... I will.. And, thank you.."

The receptionist nodded in return and began closing up, locking the front door as he left.

Exhausted just like he always was, he sat on the floor and leaned against the wall, falling into the same twisted dream-memories he always had time and time again that drove him further and further into insanity. 

* * *

Something prodding his ribs roused him from his sleep, and he looked up with sleep-blurred eyes to see the receptionist again.  
"I'm sorry, but I need to ask you to leave now..."

He just nodded mutely and stood up, trudging over to the door. He didn't look back when he heard footsteps coming into the lobby from the way of the rented room or when the receptionist asked in a surprised tone, "Oh, you're checking out already?"

A deep, gruff voice responded, "Yes... I don't like staying in one place very long..."

The voice struck him as familiar and he paused with his hand on the door handle, debating about glancing back. He knew it would be nothing more than another face to add to the crowd and would leave him disappointed as always. But there was a nagging feeling in him and it wouldn't allow him to leave until he looked back for safety's sake.

The man checking out was tall and wore long clothes that covered all his skin except for part of his face. The rest of his head was covered with a hood and an all-too-familiar face mask.

 _No... It can't be... He can't be._..

The man had finished his farewell to the receptionist and started toward him for the door.

Panicked, he quickly looked away in hopes the man hadn't seen his face and hurried out of the lobby and onto the sidewalk, the streets slowly coming to life in front of him.

He looked both ways for an escape route, but he'd only taken a few steps before the man was out of the building as well and called out, "Hey, who are you?"

He froze at the voice. It was painfully familiar, and he blinked back tears. He wouldn't cry, not in front of anyone.

"I asked you a question."

"...I... I'm no one..." It was true, at least in his mind.

There was a silence between them, he kept his back to the man, and he heard no approach or response from the man behind him. Until:

"...Hidan..?"

The priest's body shook. He hadn't heard his name said out loud in so long, it sounded foreign. "K-Kakuzu..." He stuttered. It wasn't a question.

He heard footsteps approaching him now, but he couldn't move. His long lost partner walked around in front of him and pulled back Hidan's hood to reveal his face better. "...It's really you.."

Hidan raised his eyes to look into Kakuzu's own, and he couldn't keep the tears back anymore. "You abandoned me... You were alive all this time and you left me alone..."

"How would I have known it would destroy you like this?"

Hidan trembled worse, tears freely falling from his eyes now. "Y-You bastard... You know d-damned well I h-hate being alone..."

Kakuzu didn't look fazed, and Hidan could tell that he hadn't suffered at all from loneliness or loss. He knew Kakuzu had been used to being alone before joining the Akatsuki and just had a cold, disjointed personality as it was, but Hidan could feel fury boiling up inside him at Kakuzu's lack of emotion.

"Y-You... You bastard!" Hidan yelled, snapping entirely. "You don't even care! You are just fine with all of this, aren't you?! Do you have any idea what it's been like for me?! I fucking missed you, you heartless ass! I was completely destroyed when you abandoned me! You're the only person who I could depend on for stability in this shitty world and you left me alone! But you have you're fucking money and that's all you could fucking care about, isn't it?!"

A few people walking by were casting them looks, overhearing Hidan's screaming and ranting, though neither really cared.

Kakuzu blinked in surprise. He'd never seen Hidan cry like this or be so emotional. "It.. meant that much to you..? You missed me..?"

"Of course I did! I thought since we were both immortal, we were gonna stick together instead of being alone and watching everyone else fucking die around us! I thought you would want some stability still too!"

Kakuzu frowned at what the priest said. He did like stability; it was why he was obsessed with money. It was constant and dependable, it could be easily manipulated unlike unpredictable humans. Shaking his head, he said, "I thought you hated me..."

Hidan took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Well, I did but.. After the war and all, I was still expecting for you to be there for me... You were the only one who ever stuck around, even if it was only because you were forced to... But these years passed, I... I missed you... I regretted the things I did and how I treated you... If I knew it would end this way and I thought it would have made you stay, I never would have done those things..."

The miser could only stare at him in shock. Hidan had definitely gone soft after all this time, and he could tell from his appearance he was weakened and unkempt. He wasn't sure how to respond to the priest.

When he didn't get an answer, Hidan gave him a pleading look not unlike the one he'd given the receptionist. "Please... Don't leave me again... I can't take this anymore... Please let me travel with you again..."

Kakuzu stared at him blankly for a minute. He doubted the Jashinist would take no for an answer. "Fine..."

Hidan sniffled and let out a loud cry of anguish and relief, tackling Kakuzu in a hug.

"Hey, watch it!" Kakuzu warned, shoving the priest away. He didn't like physical contact much. He hated affection in any form. It was all lies and deceit anyways.

Hidan backed away obediently. "Sorry Kakuzu..." It sent a sort of thrill through him just to be able to say that name. He waited so long, hoping that one day he'd find his ex-partner in his wanderings and be reunited with him to chase away his loneliness.

Kakuzu just grunted in response and turned his back on the smaller man. "Come on, let's go.. We're burning daylight..."

Hidan happily ran after him, feeling more energetic and alive than he had for the past who-knows-how-many years.

Both of them remained mostly silent the whole day, Kakuzu not being one for talking and Hidan being too nervous that he'd ruin the renewed partnership as well as just not being sure what to say after so long.

Eventually night fell again and they had made it out of the town. The duo found a decent clearing not too far from the road and settled down, Kakuzu noticeably keeping a decent amount of distant between the two of them. It didn't surprise or offend Hidan. He knew Kakuzu wasn't much for being social and liked his personal space, and most likely wasn't very trusting of the priest either after so much time had passed.

Hidan closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. He had the first restful, dreamless sleep he had ever had for a very, very long time. 

* * *

When Hidan opened his eyes, he yawned, feeling peaceful. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and sat up, looking around.  
Kakuzu was gone.

Hidan jumped to his feet and looked around in terror, unable to find any sign of the miser.

"Kakuzu..?" He called out weakly.

No response.

"Kakuzu?!"

Silence.

"KAKUZU!"

When he didn't get an answer the third time, his legs gave out beneath him as despair sank in.

 _He abandoned me... Again... That heartless bastard deserted me the first chance he got.._.

He curled up on himself on the ground, shivering badly. "I-I'm such an idiot... Why w-would I trust h-him..? Wh-Why..?" Tears leaked from his eyes and he couldn't help but let out choked sobs. Soon he was crying, not bothering to hold back. He was alone, so who cared?

 _Sure as hell not Kakuzu... Jashin, damn it all... Why won't you just let me die..?_

"Stop crying, you pathetic brat..."

Hidan choked and looked up to see Kakuzu had approached him silently and was now staring down at him. "K-Kuzu..? Wh-Why..?"

"I needed to make sure you weren't just using me for money... I can see you're serious about this now... I can trust that you weren't lying to me now... You haven't changed from your simple and straightforward ways, have you?"

Hidan sniffed and sat up, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "I-I guess n-not..."

Kakuzu sighed. "Come on.. We need to get to the next town and have you cleaned up... You're disgusting... Not to mention sickeningly weak... You've really given up..."

The priest couldn't even get mad at Kakuzu at this point, nor could he make himself snap back. Besides, the miser was right anyways. "A-Alright, if y-you want..."

As Kakuzu started to walk away, Hidan shakily stood and ran to catch up, falling in step next to the larger man.

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, though didn't question him, deciding to let it slide since the priest was obviously very upset.

"Hidan?"

"..Yeah..?"

"Why did you call me Kuzu earlier?"

The Jashinist looked away quickly, his face reddened somewhat. "I-I don't know... It j-just kinda slipped out I-I guess... I'm sorry..."

"..No, it's fine... I kind of liked it."

Hidan gave him a surprised look, though Kakuzu didn't acknowledge it.

A smile slowly made its way onto Hidan's face, and he felt an emotion he could barely recognize: happiness. Yes, being with Kakuzu made him happy. He was okay with that. And Kakuzu seemed much more comfortable with his presence now as well. It was almost like old times again, with the two of them hunting bounties and Jinchuuriki again.

Grinning a little bigger, Hidan thought, _Yes, I'm okay with living and staying the same forever... But only if Kakuzu is there at my side every step of the way._

* * *

(A/N: I'll probably end up doing a part 2 to this, but please do show your support if you're interested in it too! It'd be greatly appreciated to get some support! Thank you, and hope you enjoyed!)


End file.
